Committee wants audit on college sex cases

The Joint Legislative Audit Committee directed the state auditor Wednesday to look into how California public universities handle allegations of sexual harassment and rape, after students from UC Berkeley and other colleges said in federal complaints that such allegations are not taken seriously.

Among the students who spoke Wednesday was Sofie Karasek, who said her institution has a "long and documented history of silencing survivors and under-disciplining offenders."

A university official said the school cares about rape and sexual harassment and will cooperate fully with the audit. State Auditor Elaine Howle said the probe will take seven or eight months.